wanda and vision's mixtape

Wanda had lost track of time in the hours that she and Vision had been away from the compound. Around 5pm she and Vision had snuck out of the compound in one of the cars from the garage. Wanda had insisted on driving in order to preserve the secret of where she had planned their date. A forty-minute journey later and she was pulling into the busy car park of an annual attraction along the Hudson River: a month-long winter market.

Wanda undid her seat belt with a slow click and hesitantly looked over to Vision. They didn’t often come out into public like this, just the two of them, but she was hoping it would add a sense of normalcy that neither of them really had in their day to day lives. Plus, she’d brought a disposable camera with her and knew the photos would look gorgeous with the dark expanse of river behind them and the twinkle of fairy lights overhead.

“This is exciting, I’m surprised you managed to keep it a secret from me,” Vision said as Wanda pulled two tickets out of her pocket that she’d ordered in preparation for tonight. She grinned and waved the tickets before her in anticipation.

Vision made to get out of the car but paused and looked down at himself. He was dressed fairly regularly; Wanda had warned him that they’d be walking out in the cold, so he had on a navy sweater topped with a thick black wool coat. The only difference was that Vision was a synthezoid and his complexion was, well, blue and red and silver. Wanda’s heart dropped a little and she watched as Vision closed his eyes and, in a moment, assumed his human form.

“I’m sorry, Vis,” Wanda murmured, almost crushing the tickets in her hands in frustration. Here was the main reason they never went on dates in public – Vision always had to hide himself.  

“There’s no need to apologise,” Vision said catching her hand and pulling the two tickets away. “I’m just as much me as always.”

Wanda hummed contemplatively and tried to keep the disappointment from her face, she didn’t want to ruin tonight, not when they had finally managed to make enough excuses to get away unseen by the rest of the team.

“Here,” Vision said pulling her hand up to his forehead. “It’s just me.”

“Yes,” Wanda said brightening at the warmth under her hand and the feeling of his consciousness below that. Somewhere deeper the stone was there for sure but these days she was taking less and less notice of it.

“Now let’s go and have a wonderful time, I have no doubt you have all sorts planned.”

Wanda had planned a fair bit for their date and had been looking forward to participating in the many fair-like activities that occupied the bustling wharf. But, as it always seemed to end up, they instead spent their time at the quiet end content to listen to the sound of each other’s voices and take in the interesting space around them. The bustling market was made up of a collection of stalls featuring independent artists displaying a variety of artisanal foods, art work and other creative wares. Vision was a constant warmth at her side and Wanda realised how much she missed having him pressed to her like this. The constant physical connection between them was usually hidden back at the compound given that they hadn’t found the right moment to tell the rest of the team they were together. Now that they were out away from the watchful eyes of their housemates, they were free to just be themselves together.

As Wanda sipped on the warm cup of mulled wine Vision stuck to her side, one of her arms tucked into his as they walked along the creaking planks of the wharf.

“Have you thought more about telling the team about us yet?” Vision asked casually as Wanda hovered before a handmade jewellery store. They’d both decided to wait but Wanda knew it was beginning to wear both of them down. If being out on this date was telling her anything it was that they both wanted to be this way all the time, and it was getting more and more difficult to hide that.

“I know we said to wait,” Wanda ran her fingertips softly over the pendant of a necklace, not unlike the one that hung around her own neck. A deep red gem hung encrusted in brushed bronze from a silver chain. It was a beautiful piece, even if the price was hefty enough to make her stomach drop a little. “But I don’t know how long we can keep it up.”

“Let’s go over the pros and cons again,” Vision said as Wanda led the way to the next stall. Their list had been growing over the main conversations they’d had on this very topic.

“Well,” Wanda began squeezing a little closer to him as a breeze blew through the stands, making merchandise flutter atop unsteady tables. “Con: we don’t know how the others will react.”

“Based on watching them all react to Mr Stark’s announcement I can’t imagine they’ll disagree with us.”

“Hmm but Pepper and Tony have been together for years.”

“We’ll be together for years.”

Wanda smiled at the warm feeling blossoming in her chest and leant her head against his warm shoulder.

“Con: them knowing could change things between us.”

Neither of them had much to say to dispute this one as it was a common fear for both of them. Deep down both knew that there wouldn’t be backlash to the news of their romantic attachment except perhaps to the newness of it. But things would no doubt change once those they lived with learnt of their relationship.

Wanda was first to break the silence, “Pro: no more hiding.”

“Con: no more hiding,” Vision countered with a conspiratorial smirk.  

She tilted her head in question at him.

“Oh, come on you have to agree that it’s a little fun keeping this a secret, right?”

Wanda laughed and pushed his shoulder lightly. There was a level of entertainment to the sneaking around they’d had to keep up for the past months, but she couldn’t deny the relief that would come with letting the rest of the team in on their new status.

Before the conversation could be debated further Wanda caught sight of a bench pressed against the railing of the board walk, a backdrop of inky water and dark horizon line lay behind. It was the perfect opportunity for a photo.

“This way, come on,” Wanda said dragging Vision in the direction of the bench. On the way she snagged a kind looking man and asked if he wouldn’t mind taking photos of her partner and her. She relished in saying it out loud.

They posed together, sitting on the bench with arms around each other, Wanda’s head again resting against his shoulder. A few snaps of the disposable camera and the man handed it back to them before returning to his own party of friends.

“Why are you using this one instead of your phone?” Vision asked turning over the camera in his hands.

Wanda thought for a moment. “There’s convenience to instant photos but there’s an excitement to taking a photo of a memory and going to get the photos developed once the camera is full. It’s like saving bits of memory away for later.”

“And this is a memory that you want to save?” It wasn’t really a question, but he waited for her confirmation anyway. “Well, we’ll have to capture some more of this moment then.”

With that he lifted the camera once more and wound an arm around her shoulders. Wanda grinned and leaned in for the photo. They took one of themselves smiling beneath the twinkling lights and then another of Vision kissing her cheek. Though she wouldn’t see the photos for another month when she finished up the roll of camera, Wanda knew how she looked in them and knew that the light shining from her eyes had nothing to do with her powers and everything to do with who was beside her.

Two hours later the market shut for the night and the patrons were directed back to waiting cars. Wanda had had a couple of cups of mulled wine, so she let Vision handle the car – though she preferred driving it automatic, Vision had no trouble setting the Stark car to auto drive and letting the vehicle take them home. It left them free to talk more on the drive.

“We probably should tell them sooner than later,” Vision murmured as he rubbed a gentle thumb over the back of Wanda’s hand.

“I know,” she said gazing at the road ahead of them.

“But we should wait a few more weeks,” Vision said, “I don’t want to share us just yet.”

Wanda smiled and leant over to kiss him tenderly. It was exactly what she felt. There was a distinct special element to their relationship that was being protected by their secrecy and she knew that they’d be under scrutiny the moment the rest of the team were in on it. The more selfish part of her, that she didn’t take a lot of joy in acknowledging, knew that she also didn’t want to have to share Vision. It took a sharp mental reminder every now and then to not be possessive, but the plain truth was that no one at the compound knew Vision like she did, and no one else came close to understanding her the way he did. It was no surprise that their feelings had transformed from platonic affection to romantic. Not with their nearly instantaneous bond and the way it had only been strengthened by a year and a half of living with each other. Wanda’s body and mind and very soul called out for Vision in a way she wasn’t sure she had believed was possible, certainly not since she was very, very young and still believed in happy endings.

“You have reached your destination, please present for identification,” said the mechanical voice of the car as it rolled to a stop before the gates to the Avengers compound. The drive back had been far too quick for Wanda’s liking, but nonetheless she reluctantly displayed her key card to the machine outside her window.

The car had deposited them on the steps of the compound’s residential building that housed the two of them and the rest of the team who lived onsite. Wanda’s hand remained held tightly by Vision as he directed the car to take itself back to the garage and the vehicle trundled off.

“It’s too soon,” Wanda said swinging their entwined hands between them as they turned to the front door.

“Before we go in, I have something for you,” Vision said.  

Wanda watched in surprise as he fished around in his coat pocket before eventually presenting her with a small jewellery box. She took it gently in her hands and gasped as the box flipped open to reveal the pendant that she had been admiring at the young jeweller’s store back at the pier.

“How–”

“I saw you looking at it and I know how much your necklace means to you,” Vision said lifting the gift out of its box and Wanda turned around slightly, still shocked, as he placed it to rest around her neck. “I thought you could wear it on missions or when you’re worried about losing the Sokovian one.”

“Vis,” Wanda murmured, fingers running over the fine jewellery. It was funny that this piece, which cost far more than her original necklace, could act as a replacement for the cheap pendant that had come with her from Sokovia. His sentiments were sweet, but she was just as unlikely to want to part with it as the original, now that Vision had gifted it to her.   

“Beautiful,” Vision replied, kissing Wanda’s forehead and she knew that he wasn’t talking about the necklace.

A light flicked on a few floors above and they both froze, breaths held, in moments it had gone off again. Wanda let loose a relieved breath and started to laugh.

“What’s so funny,” Vision asked grinning with her as, instead of opening the front door he phased the two of them through.

“Oh, Vis it’s just so silly, all of this,” Wanda said wiping tears from her eyes as she shook with laughter. “Here we are, in a superhero base hiding around corners like scared teenagers, we’re even sneaking in after midnight like we’ve missed our curfew.” She dissolved into hushed laughter again as they made it into the entrance hall.

“Hush, hush,” Vision said as he pulled her down the hall but was trying not to laugh himself, his eyes gleaming in the unlit entry.

Wanda kept laughing despite his hurried attempts to stay quiet and instead pulled him against the wall of the corridor.

“What are you–”

“Shush.”

Wanda kissed him as she’d wanted to all night. Starting softly, he pulled her closer as the kiss deepened. One of Vision’s hands strayed up to brush against the base of her throat, brushing her hair aside. A shiver ran down her spine that was entirely involuntary and nothing to do with the cold. The feeling never got old, and it always left her breathless for more.

“Who’s there?” Came a cry from the end of the hall, leading to the kitchen.

Their heads parted in surprise and they turned towards the voice, squinting as the lights flickered to life overhead.

Wanda’s was still somewhat pressed to the wall and one of Vision’s arms was holding her waist loosely and it took a moment for her to process what was happening.

They’d been caught.

A small crowd had gathered at the end of the corridor, Steve, Tony, Bruce, Rhodey, Clint and Natasha were looking on with a mixture of surprise and amusement. All were in a varying levels of disarray, half clothed in pyjamas and hair tousled from sleep. Bare feet slapped on the stairs as Peter Parker ran down, tugging a sweater over his head and almost tumbling the last few steps.

“Woah what’s going on, I heard the alarms were going off and–” Peter broke off mid-sentence when he caught sight of the scene before him.

“I did not wake up for this shit,” Natasha said turning tail and heading back upstairs before anything more could happen, but Wanda was relieved to see a smile on her face.

“And here I thought it was the teenager causing all the commotion,” Sam chuckled stepping in to join the scene from the kitchen. He nursed a warm mug of something and the dressing gown hanging loosely around his shoulders was cinched at the waist.

“Well, this is unexpected…” Bruce trailed off rubbing at the back of his neck. “Sorry for disturbing you.”

This was perhaps the most awkward thing that anyone had said so far. Wanda didn’t really know where to look but was conscious of Vision taking a step back as they submitted to the mixed emotions of their friends.

“I called it, Cap owes me 100 bucks,” Tony said crossing his arms before him and turning to Steve who still was struggling to process what was before him. “Pay up.”

Steve didn’t appear to be listening properly and was mumbling, “I never knew. How did I never know? I trained them?”

“Well, this has been sufficiently uncomfortable,” Rhodey said rubbing at his forehead in a way that made it clear he was looking for any way out of this situation. “I guess everyone back to bed. False alarm?”

“Yeah, next time please use the door normally and don’t set off half the alarms in the building. Friday thought someone had broken in.”

“That was my fault, it won’t happen again,” Vision saw owning up to the phasing incident earlier.

“Sure, sure,” Tony said waving his hand and turning to go back upstairs, pushing Peter in front of him.

“But Mr Stark,” Peter whispered, struggling to get another look at Wanda and Vision “what’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

The others followed suit, either too tired or baffled to deal with the present situation. They all retreated back upstairs until only Sam was left sipping at his tea with a mixture of amusement and something akin to disbelief.

“Uh… congrats?” Sam grinned tipping his cup to them.

“Yep, yep ok good night, Sam,” Wanda said waving him on his way as he turned back to the kitchen.

She slumped against the wall, glad to be alone with Vision again. He hadn’t moved since pulling away from her and was staring at the ground.

“You ok?” She reached a hand out to his shoulder cautiously. This definitely wasn’t how things were supposed to go.

“Of all the ways I thought they would react, the probabilities I ran, that was certainly not one of them.”

This time it was Vision who broke out laughing and soon they were both close to tears of laughter once more. Wanda clutched at her stomach and hung off Vision’s arm as they headed upstairs together. The delivery certainly hadn’t been ideal, but it was one worry out of the way, one less complication standing between them. Wanda put an arm out to stop Vision as they reached the top of the stairs which lead to the communal living room and various bedroom suites.

As though thinking the same thing, Vision stopped and held his hand out. She didn’t hesitate as she grabbed his and pulled him the rest of the way, their hands intertwined in a way that had Wanda thinking she’d never need to let go.